By Martin Castro (The Cascade/Images) – Email
Print Edition: November 12, 2014
Clockwork Indigo’s Vancouver stop surpassed all expectations. On Saturday, November 1, the hip-hop supergroup comprised of Flatbush Zombies and the Underachievers graced the Vogue to perform a sold-out show. There were no opening acts other than a small DJ set from Powers Pleasant, producer and founding member of Pro Era.
The concert proper began with Issa and AK of Underachievers performing songs off of their two mixtapes, Indigoism and Lords of Flatbush, as well as their LP The Cellar Door. It took a while for the crowd to warm up to Underachievers, as it seemed as though most of the people present were there for Flatbush Zombies and were a little unfamiliar with Underachievers, but after one or two tracks, the crowd began to visibly enjoy Issa and AK’s performance. After Underachievers’ initial set finished, there was a bit of a lull as the stage was prepared for Flatbush Zombies.
Zombie Juice (of Flatbush Zombies) emerged from the shadows as “Thugnificense” began playing. Immediately the crowd began to sing along. As the song ended, the synth soundtrack from A Clockwork Orange began playing, and Juice introduced Erick “Arc” Elliott and Meechy Darko, a.k.a. Meech, a.k.a. Fleezus Christ, who came out on stage wearing a Canucks jersey, prompting cheering.
“I got a question for y’all,” announced Meech. “Are y’all ready to turn up or what?”
He proceeded to perform “Face-Off” a capella, flexing his talent. After this, in a flash of lights and music, FBZ performed “MRAZ,” imbuing the crowd with an enormous amount of energy as soon as Meech began his opening verse: “I am like Randy Savage on acid, that’s very vibrant and classic, a walking disaster, hazard to any rapper that’s rapping, we the underground killers, but globally they feel us ‘cause we restoring the feeling.” This was followed by “Bliss,” on which Erick flawlessly replicated his verse, while Juice and Meech spat verses while giving fist-bumps to the crowd.
A brief pause in the action — punctuated by the blaring of Nirvana over the house speakers — was instituted, but not before Meech told the crowd to stay put and not go anywhere. Ten minutes later, all five rappers came onstage in all-white. Starting the second half of the show was the Underachievers’ “Gold Soul Theory,” which was received with cheers, and was followed by interchanging tracks from both groups. A fan tried to pass Meech an unlit joint; hilarity ensued as Juice hummed a quiz show jingle while Meech urged, “Light it up! Spark it up!” Afterwards, Meech gave the fan a handshake, accepted the joint, and began to perform “Palm Trees,” the highlight of which was his verse, “Lions don’t lose sleep / Over the opinion of sheep / On the road to the riches, money sticking to my cleats / I am moi, magnifique, skin noir, darky Meeck / Niggas with the most opinion usually have the least.”
The track was followed by all five songs from Clockwork Indigo’s recent mixtape, which had the crowd enthusiastically dancing and rapping along all the way to the end of the concert, around midnight.
